It would've been really interesting between the Mercedes drivers if Nico had won today with Lewis second. They would've been level on points (I think) and very much back in the championship.
Yeah... I was a bit pissed off at that. I thought Hamilton helped re-pay Nico in Monaco with a bit of shielding.
Following on, it appears Sauber can only pay for their engines by loaning their wing-tunnel though. That article also says Hulk is to leave at the end of the season, and other staff are going unpaid. A $32m budget black hole to fill is worryingly large. Do hope there's something in the Abramovich takeover bid though.
I hope its di Resta who goes to Ferrari, that way Alonso can say he's beating the guy who beat Vettel Or it becomes egg on face and di Resta beats Alonso!
According to those articles, di Resta's moved to a new team, Scottish Force India Massa's completely thrown away his early season form, unfortunately, and with the rules changing next season, I can't see him staying. Do I see Ferrari immediately promoting Bianchi though? I think Hulkenberg's a better shout, unless Lotus have him headhunted to replace Raikkonen, in which case di Resta is actually in with a shout. Who'd have thought that at the end of last year?
Hulkenberg definitely deserves a top seat, as much as I like Bianchi a season for a mid-range team could be better for him. Despite this, Hamilton came straight to the top, and Vettel only had a season of a lesser car
Benson: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/23238016 To summarise a few key points: - Boullier confirmed that the team had been late in paying Raikkonen his salary - Jean-Eric Vergne is out of contention for the Red Bull seat - Grosjean's sponsorship from Total is reputedly worth around £5m - Maldonado's sponsorship deal with Venezuelan oil giant PDVSA is worth £30m a year and runs until the end of 2015 - Maldonado, Kobayashi and Hulkenberg all linked with Lotus - Bianchi, Di Resta and Hulkenberg linked to the second Ferrari seat I can't see Raikkonen staying at Lotus if they can't pay his salary on time. They've lost James Allison too. They'll never convince him that they'll be more competitive than Red Bull, they can't pay him more. The only thing they can offer him is a compliant team mate. He'll leave if he gets the chance. It's worrying how many teams are struggling right now, Lotus and Sauber can't pay their drivers on time and are losing key personnel, Force India were struggling last year and no doubt Williams would be too if they didn't have Pastor's massive wad keeping them afloat, that's the equivalent of three places in the constructors'. I wish the teams would get together and separate from FOM so they could get a fair cut of the sport's revenue. I don't know how he can rule out Vergne for the Red Bull drive with such certainty. I think that's the first I've heard of Kobayashi for the Lotus seat as well. It sounds like Maldonado's a non-starter, I hope his contract with Williams is watertight, when Perez left Sauber Telmex replaced him with another Mexican, if PDVSA did the same thing we'd probably end up with Cecotto in F1.
Kobayashi! Raikkonen must be leaving Lotus at the end of the year, it's obvious. Their financial situation can't be great, they've probably spent big to try and catch Ferrari/Red Bull and paid the price (much like a certain German car manufacturer). I'd expect Kobayashi or Hulkenberg to be the more obvious picks to replace Raikkonen as they've both been bona fide team leaders. No Maldonado doesn't count. If Maldonado goes to Lotus and brings PDVSA sponsorship A) Williams are going out of business and B) They'll probably end up with an all-new driver line-up. Second Ferrari seat is as we were; I'd expect Bianchi to graduate to the midfield next year but you never know, he probably could make the jump. Agreed re: Vergne, don't see how he's out of contention unless Red Bull never had any intentions of promoting from within. Whitmarsh said that all but two of F1's teams (presumably Ferrari and Red Bull) were running in financial emergency mode at the start of the season... worrying times.
I really hope the teams go off into their own Championship soon, the FIA and FOM are becoming worse with every day. We may loose Ferrari if the teams walked as I think they enjoy their $100m just for turning up fee, but in the interest of fairness so be it. There was a article in Autosport at the start of the season about Lotus' woes, basically even if they won the Championship and Ferrari came 10th they'd still get less than Ferrari!
The whole thing is a shambles... When the bloke running the sport has more wealth than 80% of the grid combined, it's pretty obvious where all the wealth has gone. It will never change though, the teams allow it to persist and the little one usually uses his divide and conquer tactics whenever there is a wiff of a breakaway. The teams are weak, other than Ferrari... The only power they have is to walk away and they just don't have the minerals or solidarity to do it.
I thought they were backed by Carlos Slim, hence Gutierrez in the car, not Kamui. How can they be broke, yet bankrolled by the worlds richest man? If Slim isn't financing them, surely they should drop Gutierrez, put someone in the car who can at least come close to Hulk, and try to get some more constructors points, for better prize money at the end of the season.
Also, i'd love to see Kamui in the Lotus. Lotus are a team who play to their drivers strengths, instead of forcing Kamui to do economy runs (like Sauber did last year) they can let him race.
Don't think I'll bother with the Japanese GP this year now Kamui wont be racing there, always loved his overtakes at the "Kamui hairpin"
It's pretty obvious telmex will be moving over to McLaren next year taking over from vodaphone. This is why Sauber have a shortfall for next season
